Chenbro Gaming Bomb II: Anyone for Upscale Gaming?
by Purav Sanghani on December 14, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Final Words
We have seen many case designers try to put out their rendition of the perfect case, but only some rarely come close. With so many features that a case could have, we need to look at the costs of having everything. It just isn't possible to include tool-less designs throughout the case while it is constructed of an all-aluminum body, with a removable motherboard tray and pivoting drive cages. The costs, both manufacturing as well as selling, would be tremendous.Chenbro has weighed the features and has picked out the ones that they feel should be in a chassis no matter what. They have implemented tool-less locking mechanisms into their drive bays. They have included rubber mounts for their FlexiBay HDD cage, which can be removed and also positioned in two arrangements.
Chenbro has also implemented a removable motherboard tray as well as a system of passages to maintain a clean, managed environment inside the case, which reduces cable clutter to the bare minimum. Features like this may be small, but help bring a chassis closer to the state of perfection.
The GB2 performed extremely well in our thermal benchmarks. Though very loud, the dual 120mm fans helped keep the air flowing to move warm air out of the chassis as quick as possible. The Athlon 64 3200+ remained between 37-48 degrees from idleness to 100% load,which is a very safe range. The "holed" design of the expansion slot covers also helped cool the VGA card a few degrees by allowing air to flow past the 9800XT back through the holes.
So, the question on everyone's mind is, "is the Gaming Bomb II worth the money?" In our honest opinion, the GB2 is one of the best cases that we have seen in Chenbro's product line. They went from plastic and steel-themed gaming chassis to high end, enthusiast class gaming cases with many functional improvements.
The Gaming Bomb II should be arriving at retailers sometime this month and for about $240, you can pick one up just in time for the holidays. The price may seem a bit steep to the novice user, but for those who are looking for features and functionality combined with good looks and don't mind spending 2½ bills, the Gaming Bomb II is definitely for you and we would recommend it to those who can afford it.
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RuStYwAvE - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
Just face it, you guys will never be satisfied with any case as long as you get it for free. If you want a case that stand out from the crowd build one yourself or shutup and buy the most expensive case you can find, most likely only a number of you will actually buy it. The fact is most of you won't buy a expensive (top of line case) and would probably just settle with a cheap case and a decent power supply, even if you do have the money for it. Saying that, I prefer the Lanboy or SLK 350 watt model from antec, but that is just my opinion. It is cheap, reliable, quiet, and aluminum depending which one you get; alot of people buy it for these reasons, even though the case does not stand out from the crowd, but who cares. Also, I think that toolless cases are overrated and thumbscrews can be just as easy to remove components and drives from the case around the same time it takes you push a slot or twist a knob. Taking a quick look at the pictures of the cm stacker and chenbro case, it looks to me that you still need to crack open the case to replace any part and the motherboard still require screws to mount them.phaxmohdem - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
Those B**tards stole my design! And now they insult me by offering it at a meager $260??? This case is worth at LEAST $549.99 Come on!kmmatney - Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - link
I can't really understand why everyone is ragging on the XSpider case so much. It was actually one of the quietest cases tested, it was well-built, and is 1/5 the price of this one. It didn't look that bad - you can get other colors besides red.Locut0s - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
Like others I applaud the review of a nicer, non tacky "metal-head", case. Though there are even nicer ones out there. Personally I don't care for any type of side window, though the one on this case is bareable. However I also agree with others that 240 bucks is a bit much to spend for a case like this, especially considering that you can find many other cases with similar features, some of which look nicer, for a lot less. Still this is a step in the right direction IMO.Bladen - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
I knew that price would hurt them, it was supposed to be $200.I'm still going to buy one later, which may be sitting im my bedroom until 2006 or later when I will put a new system in it.
I'll probably mod that top exhaust to fit 120mm fan to put my 4 Blue LED Blackfire A.C. Ryan fan on it.
Why complain about stock, who uses stock anyway?
It looks good and is probably solid. The ICM and Fleibay are good for modders who want looks and airflow (although having the HDDs backs facing the motherboard will reduce airflow).
ksherman - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
no thanks... ill stick to my uber quite Antec SonataWolfz - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
Would it be possible to have a short follow-up addition about modding this case to fix the noise issues, etc? It shouldnt take that long to do (~2 hours maybe?)diehlr - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
uglyPhantronius - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
I"ll stick with my aluminum chieftec, thanks.PuravSanghani - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - link
hoppa: We actually did briefly mention this in the conclusion..."The GB2 performed extremely well in our thermal benchmarks. Though very loud, the dual 120mm fans helped keep the air flowing to move warm air out of the chassis as quick as possible"
Hope that helps!